Most people start the day feeling behind on their tasks for the day. They jump out of bed when the whole household wakes up or because the household has come to wake them up and immediately, they begin fulfilling the agenda of others in their life; Their children, their partner, their boss, their employees, their friends, parents, whoever.
Everyone seems to have a bit more of a say in their life than they do. And they tend to live with an underlying resentment that they do not get to do what they want to do and they feel trapped in this state as it seems to be the ‘nice’ thing to do to live this way.
There is another way and in fact as a successful person, you must choose to deliberately design your day and this technique of writing in a journal (Journaling) is one great way to do it.
Here are 5 reasons to start journaling today:
1. You journal to reconnect with yourself and your purpose
If you are used to living in a reactive state all the time where you always feel a little bit behind, then journaling will enable you to get back in touch with yourself and your purpose. Imagine a day where you wake up even ten minutes before others in your home and you whip out your journal and you simply write down what you would like the day to look like.
Now, the truth is, you may need to get the children to school, cook breakfast, get to the business at a certain time, help the parents out and do all of the normal things but there is a difference between doing it because someone compels you to with their nagging or doing it because you have taken a moment to see how it fits in with the life you want to create.
One way makes you feel resentful whereas the other way makes you feel like the captain of your own life, which you are; though you may have forgotten in the hustle and bustle of life. This is the deliberate design of a day when you take a few minutes to write it all out and how you choose to show up in your own day. One deliberately designed day after another will lead to a successful life.
“A personal journal is an ideal environment in which to “become”. It is a perfect place for you to think, feel, discover, expand, remember, and dream.” – Brad Wilcox
2. You journal to connect with spirit
How is your spirituality? Does it suffer when you rush straight into the day with no time to think or meditate? Or maybe, you do meditate but again, all peace and tranquility feels lost as you go on into the day. What if you had your journal next to you and you record all the insights that occur to you while you are connecting with spirit.
This is something I do daily. I simply ask Spirit within me what I need to hear and I record all the things that bubble up within. It may be a picture or impression, in which case I put my very minimal drawing skills to the test or it is simply a bubbling up of words, which I record.
Imagine a journal full of impressions and words that came from the deep wisdom inside of you. Imagine how inspirational that would be to read in the moments of chaos throughout the day. I still have such insights from 10 years or more ago and they still have the power to move me.
3. You journal to tap back into your emotions
Some days, it feels quite cloudy within you and you want clarity on what you are feeling and why. With a journal, you can take a moment to ask yourself the question “What am I feeling?” You then write down the answer, which will naturally lead to another question. You write down that answer as well and continue to dig into you until you do hit clarity and given enough time.
Yes, you could simply just think about it but you have tried that already and how well did it work for you? Your feelings and emotions can be very confusing. Taking the time to honour them by clarifying what you feel and why and then choosing whether to continue to feel that way (and yes, you can do all this by writing it out) will make a huge difference to your emotional wellbeing and ability to be mindful in each moment.
“Journaling is like whispering to one’s self and listening at the same time.” – Mina Murray
4. You journal because it can be used to change your state/mood
Have you ever tried to do something creative when feeling down in the dumps? It is a struggle, isn’t it? Well, with a journal, you can quickly change your state by listing a range of ‘I am’ statements.
I am joyful, I am rich, I am powerful, I choose to feel happy and act form a more empowered state, I am a leader and I easily come up with solutions to every problem my people face. Now it is your turn.
Write a few statements telling yourself exactly what you choose to think and feel and see how it starts to change the way you actually think and feel. When you change the way you think, you change the quality of actions you take! As a result, it is worth spending the 30 -90 seconds to change your emotional state and ensure you are acting from a place of power.
I started a journal about 3 years ago, which has been pivotal with my personal growth. I am a combat veteran and have been battling many things since my return home. Once I started writing in my journal things started to click for me came to condolances with my past and mapping out my future. More keen on my goals and following through with my dreams. I like #4 I often turn to my journal when facing a struggle I always come to a conclusion for what I must do next to push forward. It is as equivelint if not better than talking to a therapist. After getting out I was facing an identity crisis. I didn’t know who the hell I was. Getting into journaling helped me to get to know myself.
I’ve been a journaler since I was about 9 years old! I love this benefit of journaling: ” One deliberately designed day after another will lead to a successful life.” I usually journal at the END of the day, but I do like this idea, sort of an Intention setting practice.
Lately I’ve taken a different approach to journaling. It is something I did many years ago when I wanted to be more deliberate about my writing, rather than just raining my thoughts down on a page. I give each entry a title. This transforms my thoughts into little stories, which helps me to see them in a different way.
Happy Journaling!
Lori
Excellent! I too have journalled for a very long time. Some of my journals got misplaced in emigrating country but I have quite a few from teenage years onwards. I originally began as a way to remember what it felt like to be young and for my children to see what i had been like and then it became more. I sometimes journal at the end of the day, particularly when I have a question I want to meander about overnight or just to express gratitude but yes, I prefer first thing in the morning as an intention setting proctice as you put it.
I love your transforming tehm into little stories. That seems pretty cool.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts.